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''The Johns Hopkins Science Review'' is a US television series about science that was produced at
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
from 1948-1955. Starting in 1950, the series aired on the DuMont Television Network until the network's demise in 1955. The series' creator was
Lynn Poole Lynn Poole (August 11, 1910 – April 14, 1969) was the creator and host of an early U.S. science television program, ''The Johns Hopkins Science Review'' (1948–1955), and the author of more than 20 popular science books. In 2002, Patrick Lucan ...
, who wrote or co-wrote most of its episodes and acted as the on-camera host. The original series was followed by three related series produced by Poole at Johns Hopkins University: ''Tomorrow'' (1955), ''Tomorrow's Careers'' (1955-1956), and ''Johns Hopkins File 7'' (1956-1960). Johns Hopkins University ended its production of television series in 1960.


Broadcast history

The original series aired from March 9, 1948, to March 6, 1955. Initially, the show was broadcast only in the Baltimore area. Starting with the December 17, 1948, episode, shows were broadcast by
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
from stations along the East Coast. As was typical in the early days of television broadcasting, each show was broadcast live from a studio at Johns Hopkins University. Each week's show involved one or more guests, often from the Johns Hopkins faculty and staff. Poole acted as the host and interviewer. The guest might show how a scientific apparatus such an
electron microscope An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a hi ...
or an oscilloscope worked, or would briefly explain scientific ideas to the viewers. In the December 5, 1950, episode, the live broadcast of a
fluoroscope Fluoroscopy () is an imaging technique that uses X-rays to obtain real-time moving images of the interior of an object. In its primary application of medical imaging Medical imaging is the technique and process of imaging the interior of a ...
screen was used by doctors in New York and Chicago to diagnose the injuries to a machinist in the hospital in Baltimore. In the April 21, 1952, episode, a scientist drank a solution containing the radioactive isotope of iodine, and then followed its progress in his own body with a Geiger counter. The guests were sometimes national figures like
Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...
(October 20, 1952), George Gamov, and
Harold Urey Harold Clayton Urey ( ; April 29, 1893 – January 5, 1981) was an American physical chemist whose pioneering work on isotopes earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1934 for the discovery of deuterium. He played a significant role in th ...
. The show famously showed a live birth and gave instructions to women viewers about breast self-examination. Each half-hour episode was broadcast from
WAAM WAAM is a radio station in Ann Arbor, Michigan, known as "WAAM TALK 1600" and "WAAM RADIO". The station is owned by Coolarity A2, LLC. The station operates at a maximum power of 5,000 watts at a frequency of 1600 kHz using a seven-tower direct ...
in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. The series moved to the DuMont Television Network in November 1949 through station WMAR. The program aired Tuesdays at 8:30 pm EST during the 1950-51 season, Mondays at 8:30pm EST during the 1951-52 season, and Wednesdays at 8pm EST during the 1952-53 season. According to the 1953-54 United States network television schedule, the show remained in the Wednesday at 8pm EST slot for the 1953-54 season. The series would win the network Peabody Awards in 1950 (honorable mention) and 1952. A spin-off program, '' Johns Hopkins File 7'', aired on a syndicated basis from 1956 to 1960. Like the ''Review'', ''File 7'' was broadcast by WAAM and featured host Lynn Poole.Brooks, Tim and Earle Marsh (1985). ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 to Present'' p. 433. Ballantine: New York. .


Archives

Approximately 303 episodes of the original series were made. There are records of 238 episodes, and
kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 194 ...
films from 186 episodes, stored in Special Collections of the Milton Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University. The title, original date of broadcast, an abstract, and credits are given for each episode with a surviving kinescope. This means it has the most surviving episodes of any DuMont Network program. The earliest surviving kinescope is from November 21, 1950. At least three episodes survive at the
UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the ar ...
. In addition, Johns Hopkins University has records and films of the three successor series.


Retrospective reception

In 2002, Patrick Lucanio and Gary Coville wrote that, "In retrospect, Lynn Poole created one of those unique series that allowed television to fulfill its idealized mission as both an educational and an entertainment medium."
Johns Hopkins Magazine Johns may refer to: Places * Johns, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Johns, Oklahoma, United States, a community * Johns Creek (Chattahoochee River), Georgia, United States * Johns Island (disambiguation), islands in Canada and the ...
declared in 2019 that the show was "ahead of its time" for its frank approach to educating its viewers on matter of science, especially
biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
.


See also

*
List of programs broadcast by the DuMont Television Network This is a list of programs broadcast by the DuMont Television Network, which operated in the United States from 1942 to 1956. All regularly scheduled programs which were aired on the DuMont network are listed below, regardless of whether they orig ...
*
List of surviving DuMont Television Network broadcasts The DuMont Television Network was launched in 1946 and ceased broadcasting in 1956. Allen DuMont, who created the network, preserved most of what it produced in kinescope format. By 1958, however, much of the library had been destroyed to recove ...
*
1950-51 United States network television schedule Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 '' Ab urbe con ...
* 1951-52 United States network television schedule *
1952-53 United States network television schedule Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 '' Ab urbe con ...
* 1953-54 United States network television schedule


References


Further reading

* A book about the series by a co-producer. * *


External links

* * Several episodes of ''The Johns Hopkins Science Review'' and videos about the show were formerly available at Research Channel. * Several public domain episodes of ''The Johns Hopkins Science Review'' can be viewed on the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
. These includ
''Concrete With Muscles''''Don't Drink that Water''''Usefulness of Useless Knowledge''''A visit to our Studio''''The Master Glass Blower''
an
''Great Men of Science''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johns Hopkins Science Review 1948 American television series debuts 1955 American television series endings Science education television series American educational television series Black-and-white American television shows CBS original programming DuMont Television Network original programming English-language television shows Johns Hopkins University Peabody Award-winning television programs Television shows filmed in Maryland